Why I dont give to charity, Singapore style

Long ago, while I was living in Canada, I used to give to the poor on the street. A person would come up to ask for change and I would give them money in relation to how badly of alcohol they smelt. If they were really reeking, then a dollar; if there was a hint, I would take them to the nearest soup/sandwich place and buy them a meal; and if there wasnt a hint of alcohol on them but simply down on their luck, I would give $5 or so. I would constantly buy things from people. I had a huge selection of those little tiny key chains and nicknacks that the deaf people in the food courts would sell ("I am deaf, please pay $5 for this trinket. Thank you" sort of deal). I mean, back then I was so naive, so foolish, so stupid. I mean, I had no clue that what I was doing was actually MAKING them the way that they were. Luckily I came to Singapore and learned from the masters.

At first, while in Canada, I equated my helping out the poor and the homeless in relation to how the gov't helps out the poor and the homeless. They have shelters, drug abuse rehab centres, soup kitchens, churches open their hall doors on the winter nights for the homeless people to sleep, the Salvation Army collects clothes and items to sell for cheap and then use that money to help out charity organizations. All of these are government funded and supported as well as supported by charity donations from other people. So I figure if the government is helping out the people then I, a lowly person, should be able to help out in some small way as well.

However, look at what problems I have been contributing to. I see a poor man on the street, I give him $2 out of charity and he has no incentive to try to better himself to get a job and support himself. I have taken away that fear of death that drives all people to try to do something with their lives. The PAP sees this and constantly says that if you have a social welfare system like welfare, unemployment insurance and other safety nets you are basically insulting the person and taking away their basic drive to do something with their lives. Why study hard and get a high paying job to buy many things when you can just sit back, be unemployed and collect free money from the gov't? Result? There are so many unemployed and lazy people in Canada but all of Singapore (minus the few obviously too lazy people on the streets. I mean, just cause you lost a leg or are blind doesnt mean that you cant do work. Obviously, based on gov't thought, they are just lazy) are busy working and employed.

So now when I go out on the street and get jumped by school kids on Saturday pushing cans in my face, or see the old blind person on the street selling tissues or the like, I do what the PAP is telling us to do 'ignore them, tell them to get a real job and move on with your life'. So far, I seem to be blending in to the society quite well and if it wasn't for this damn white skin and blue eyes, I probably could be mistaken for a Singaporean.

Why Canadians are stupid when traveling

This only goes to show how relaxed Canadians have become. We live in a country of legal actions, due process and a justice system that (while bogged down) often tries to find adequate justice (though sentencing needs to be adjusted somewhat). So when we travel to other countries, we forget that some countries are more barbaric than ours.

Remember, when touring primative and barbaric cultures/countries, be sure to obey their laws. When being attacked by a mob of people over possibly insulting a woman, be sure to die, or take the beatings in the mob, do NOT fight back or else you will be beaten and killed.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080405/cdn_teen_080405/20080405?hub=Canada

Saudi court sentences Canadian teen to year in jail
Updated Sat. Apr. 5 2008 5:13 PM ET

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL -- A Canadian teen charged in Saudi Arabia after a man died in a schoolyard rumble has been sentenced to one year in prison and 200 lashes, a family friend said Saturday.

Sultan Kohail, 17, was read his sentence before a Saudi youth court, Mahmoud Al-Ken said in an interview.

"Definitely it's a lot better than the death sentence that they were afraid of having,'' Al-Ken said.

Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty.

Kohail's brother, Mohamed, has already been convicted of the same charges and was sentenced last month to death by public beheading.

The brothers maintain their innocence and have both launched appeals.

Al-Ken said Sultan's lighter sentence was handed down by a different judge who permitted "vigorous'' cross-examination of the prosecution's witnesses, a key component he said Mohamed did not have in his case.

"We hope that this due process will be applied also in the appeal of Mohamed's (sentence),'' he said.

The Kohail family has argued Mohamed didn't get a fair trial. It says the 10 hearings in his case totalled 90 minutes and no witnesses were heard.

Sultan was released on bail in July 2007 and is free until his appeal is heard in about six weeks, Al-Ken said. He could not provide details on the lashes.

Mohamed, meanwhile, sits in a Jidda prison.

Sultan, Mohamed and a friend were detained in January 2007 after a schoolyard brawl left one man dead.

The Kohail brothers and Muhanna Masoud were involved in a fight that broke out after Sultan was accused of insulting a girl.

According to the account of the Kohail brothers, they scrapped with about 15 of the girl's male relatives and friends. Some were allegedly armed with clubs and knives.

Munzer Haraki, 19, a cousin of the girl who was supposedly insulted, died of internal injuries in the melee.

The Kohail family believes the prosecution failed to bring those responsible for the rumble to justice, Al-Ken said.

"Those who deliberately started the attack on the Kohails and their friend must be held accountable for their actions,'' he said.

Masoud, a Jordanian national, was also sentenced to death.

The Canadian government has said it will seek clemency for Mohamed Kohail after a directive from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Ron Davidson, Canada's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met with the Kohail family last week. He was also to meet with officials of the Saudi justice ministry to press for a fair process.

The brothers, both of Palestinian origin, have been Canadian citizens since 2005.

Ali Kohail, the brothers' father, has said the family had only temporarily relocated from a Montreal suburb to Saudi Arabia to attend a relative's wedding.